Chapter 1: Introduction

A Weblog is an online journal that can be used for different purposes. People use a weblog for writing poetry, fiction, commentary about other sites, storing links to useful websites, collecting information on topics of interest, publishing a photo album collection, for tracking and documenting projects etc.

A weblog is also known as a blog for short. A blog is an open ended website which is used for different purposes.

The most distinguishing features of a blog are
1. It is frequently updated.
2. Entries in a blog are ordered chronologically (usually).
3. Readers of a blog can access and link to old entries.
4. Readers of a blog can communicate with the author through email and by posting comments and
5. Blogs have a specific layout and structure.

So basically a weblog is a website with a specific set of characteristics and conventions that have evolved over time and continue to.

Popular Approaches to blogging

There are two popular approaches to blogging.

1. Centrally hosted solution and
2. Remotely installed server solution.

A centrally hosted solution is a free or fee based blog service hosted on a central server and managed by the service provider. It is accessible from any computer connected to the Internet at a well-known address (URL).

A remotely installed server solution is shrink-wrapped or downloadable software that needs to be installed and configured on a web server. A remotely installed blog service can be accessible on the intranet or on the Internet based on the configuration of the web server.

Centrally hosted solution

Advantages
1. Accessible online.
2. No installation and setup.
3. No administration and maintenance.
4. Easy to sign up and use.

Disadvantages
1. Limited customization options.
2. Usage restrictions (limits on space and bandwidth).
3. Service provider specific blog URL.
4. No offline editing.
5. Tied to a single vendor. No easy import, export options. Trapped content.

Remotely installed server solution

Advantages
1. Fully customizable.
2. No limits on usage (bandwidth or server space).
3. User defined blog URL.

Disadvantages
1. Complex installation and setup procedures.
2. High costs of administration and maintenance.
3. Tied to a single vendor. No easy import, export options.
4. No offline editing.
5. High upfront costs for server hardware.

Current solutions to creating blogs either require too much setup and administration or are inflexible and lock down the user to a single vendor solution. iBlog combines the strengths of the above two approaches to create a unique solution to blogging. iBlog is a locally installed (desktop) blog application that gives the power and flexibility of a remotely installed server application.

iBlog (Desktop Solution to blogging)

Advantages
1. Drag and drop installation.
2. User-friendly graphical user interface.
3. Tight integration with desktop applications.
4. Provides a seamless workflow.
5. Uses open standards and open formats.
6. Supports multiple publishing schemes.
7. Integrated Newsreader.
8. Generates XML files for syndicating published blogs.
9. Offline editing and reading.
10. Single button preview and publish.
11. Highly customizable output with custom templates and stylesheet support.
12. Instant search, sort, calendar, email and more.

Disadvantages
Integrating some server based features (like comments, mailing lists, blog rolling etc) require the user to sign up for additional services. Though iBlog provides easy access to multiple free services, there is some inconvenience to the users in signing up for these services. Please refer to Part VI of this book for more information on these services.